REST

REST

Representational State Transfer.

REST is a standard for providing web services across a network (typically across the web).

A REST service request is defined using four parts:

1. A URL to a resource, which defines the destination of the request.
2. A verb, which defines the type of operation. Typically this is one of "GET", "POST", "PUT" or "DELETE". cf CRUD.
3. A message body, which contains any additional information required to define the request.
4. A collection of headers. Not all web services require headers.

A REST service response is defined using three parts:

1. A status code (or response code), which summarises the outcome of the request. For example 200 for OK.
2. A response body, which contains the data requested.
3. A collection of headers, which provide additional information relevant to the response. Not all web services make use of response headers.

Web services that are REST compliant are also known as RESTful systems or RESTful web services.

Restful services are also stateless. Being stateless means that the server does not need to know anything about the client besides the information conveyed in the request.